Future, Present
by NattiKay
Summary: It seems that Kagome isn't the only one predisposed to accidentally travel back in time. In fact, it seems to run in the family, as two mysterious puppy-eared children turn up in the forests near Kaede's village...
1. Chapter 1

Miroku hummed casually as he gathered the kindling. A few dead leaves here, some dry twigs there. Night would be falling soon, and he had to get back to his friends before the darkness overtook the forest. Tomorrow night, at least, he reminded himself, they'd be able to sleep in the comfort of a hut rather than on the exposed forest floor.

It was rare that their wanderings to collect the jewel shards and sniff out Naraku's latest hiding place took them so close to what might as well be their home base in Kaede's village. They might have closed the distance completely had they not already been traveling the whole day, not to mention had battled that rampaging youkai that had attacked so suddenly. The great beast had roared and stomped with massive feet, causing the very group to quake and divide asunder beneath its feet. They'd had to retreat to fighting off the backs of Kirara and Shippo (in his floating balloon form) to avoid being knocked down by the violent shaking, or else falling into the great fissures cracking in the earth. After such an ordeal, sandwiched with long periods of travel before and after, the group grew weary and needed rest before they took the final leg of the journey. Thus, there they were, out to endure yet one more night in the forest.

Miroku straightened up, analyzing the bundle of twigs and leaves in his spare hand. Would it be enough? Probably, he thought, and turned to head back towards the campsite.

No sooner had he left, however, than he suddenly heard a pair of voices arguing in the distance. He paused and looked around, listening closely to find who had spoken and from where.

"—all your fault!" one was complaining.

" _My_ fault?" said the other. "I don't remember asking you to tag along, you…you…you _dummy!_ "

" _You're_ the dummy!" the first voice snapped.

"Why you—wait…wait, look there! UNCLE!"

There was a rustling of leaves as two little pairs of feet dashed across the forest. Miroku finally caught sight of the mysterious arguers as a pair of what looked like young children sprinted towards him. Surprised, Miroku turned around, expecting to see another man behind him. When he saw none and turned back in confusion, the children had reached him, panting.

"Uncle!" the second voice said again. It belonged to a young boy, the older of the two. "Please don't get mad at us…but we got lost. Can you take us back to the village?"

"Are…you talking to me?" the monk asked, just to confirm, glancing around the place as though still expecting to see someone else.

"Don't be silly, Uncle, of course we're talking to you," said the boy. "It's getting dark, we wanna go home before Mom and Dad get mad." The second child, a younger girl, nodded vigorously in agreement.

Miroku blinked. He did not recognize these children, nor did he have any nieces or nephews as far as he was aware. Still, these two seemed like they'd had a rough day. Dust and dirt coated their skin, their dark hair tangled and messy. How long had they been lost? The monk took a deep breath and exhaled slowly, searching for a tactful way to explain.

"I'm so sorry, my boy, but I'm afraid you must be mixing me up with someone else. I don't have any nieces or nephews. But I'm sure my friends and I would be happy to take you to the nearest village if you're willing to wait until tomorrow morning. We were planning to head there anyways. You can join us in our camp and we'll leave first thing tomorrow."

The children glanced at each other for a moment before the boy turned back to Miroku with narrowed eyes.

"My sister and I need a second to decide," he announced, putting a hand on the girl's back and taking a few paces away. They leaned into a huddle to start a whispered conversation. Miroku listened in as best he could while appearing not to notice.

"I dunno if we can trust him," the boy was saying. "You know what Mom and Dad are always saying about strangers."

"I think he's ok," the girl responded in a casual, offhand tone. "Besides, you were the one who ran up to him all excited…"

"I thought he was Uncle", the boy snapped. "It's getting hard to see out here."

"Yeah, well…I still think he's ok."

The boy sighed, running a hand through his short dark hair. "Well…" Then he turned back to Miroku.

"Well, alright, mister. We'll stay for this one night. But don't do anything fishy, or else!"

Miroku put his hands up…or, he did as best he could with the kindling in one and his staff in the other.

"You have my word that you'll be safe with us, m'boy," he assured. The boy still didn't look entirely convinced, but the girl smiled.

"Well, all right then," Miroku continued. "Let's get back before it gets completely dark, shall we?" And with that, the three set off towards the camp.

Inuyasha had not yet returned to camp by the time Miroku got there, and Shippo had already fallen asleep, scarcely visible save for the small tuft of auburn hair poking out from the voluminous folds of Kagome's sleeping back. But Kagome and Sango were still awake and present.

"There you are. What took so long?" inquired Sango.

"Sorry about that…something came up," said Miroku, ushering the lost children forward.

"Oh!" gasped Kagome. "Who is this?"

"They were lost out in the woods," explained Miroku. "By the looks of it, it's been a while. I offered to take them back to the village with us; perhaps we can track down their parents there."

"I see," mused Kagome. The sky was now dark and it was hard to see the children in detail, but she did notice the odd look they were giving her—the boy in particular. It was the kind of look she'd seen classmates make as they racked their brains for the answer to a difficult test question—a look she was sure she'd made many times herself. But why? _Perhaps,_ she thought, _it's just my imagination…_

"Well, it's a little late now, but of course we'll help you first thing in the morning," Kagome promised. "But first, sleep. Let's see…if you live in a village, you're probably not accustomed to sleeping outside…" she sighed. "Alright, why don't you two take the sleeping bag?" she suggested, gesturing towards the long roll of warm fabric. "Never mind the fox; he's friendly,"

"Don't worry," said the girl, yawning widely as she and her brother trudged towards the sleeping bag. "One of our best friends is a fox…"

And before they knew it, they were all asleep, kindling and the thought of fire forgotten in the exhaustion, laying unused next to Miroku's staff.

.oOo.

Kagome was woken the following morning by tiny hands shaking her awake.

"Kagome! Ka-go-meeeee!" came a little strained voice.

Kagome blearily opened her eyes to see Shippo sitting on her chest, looking utterly panicked.

"What is it, Shippo?" she mumbled, her voice still slightly slurred with sleep. "Did you have a nightmare?"

"No, worse!" squeaked the little fox. "The sleeping bag has been taken over by youkai!"

"Youkai?" echoed Kagome, electing not to remind the boy that he himself fell into that category. "Do you mean the two children? Miroku found them lost in the woods last night, we offered to help them out. But they're human." Aren't they?

"No they aren't!" exclaimed Shippo. "Well, I mean, I guess they kinda smell like it…but they sure look like youkai!"

Kagome blinked. There had seemed nothing unusual about the children last night. Had they all been duped? Was the child look naught but a disguise?

"What do you mean?" she asked.

"I mean THAT!" said Shippo, pointing back towards the sleeping back where the lost children were stirring, sitting up and looking around the campsite.

Suddenly Kagome saw what Shippo meant. She was unsure why she hadn't noticed it before—perhaps the cover of darkness had obscured the details—but both children had little fuzzy puppy's ears poking out from their dark hair, not unlike Inuyasha's. Or, at least, the boy's were like Inuyasha's. The girl's were slightly longer and thinner, flopping out over her head.

What an odd feature, Kagome thought. Not for its appearance alone, but for its rarity. She had seen countless youkai over the course of her quest for the jewel, and even met one or two other hanyou, but none that she could recall ever possessed animal ears on an otherwise human form save for Inuyasha himself. But, then, she reasoned, the two other hanyou she had met looked wildly different from each other—the young bat girl Shiori looked almost completely human save her exotic eye and hair colors, while the kind man Jinenji hardly looked human at all. So it was likely that different types of hanyou had different appearances, and she simply hadn't had the chance to meet any similar to Inuyasha before.

But… _were_ they hanyou? She hadn't sensed any youki from them last night, nor had Miroku by the sound of it. Kagome took a moment to focus on her spiritual powers, casting her concentration in the direction of the children. To her slight surprise, she did sense a bit of youki, but it was very weak compared to Inuyasha's.

"Well," she said at length, turning back to Shippo. "If they are youkai, their powers aren't very strong. I don't think you have to worry too much."

"Worry about what?" came a gruff voice. Kagome glanced up to see Inuyasha leaping down from the tree in which he had slept the previous night. "And more importantly, why weren't you sleeping in that stupid bag of yours you insist on toting around? If you ain't gonna use it, we might was well—" the hanyou froze as he turned to indicate the sleeping bag, catching sight of the children for the first time. He paused. "Who the he—"

But before he could finish his question, he was interrupted by the boy crashing into him, hugging the hanyou tightly around the waist.

"DAD!" he cried. "You found us! We were so scared! Or, well…" he straightened up a bit, trying to look mildly dignified. " _Izzy_ was scared. _I_ knew we'd be ok…"

"Liar!" growled the girl—Izzy, apparently. But she too ran up to Inuyasha, looking a bit relieved. "Let's go home now, Daddy, I'm really hungry…"

Inuyasha just stood there, utterly frozen save a few confused twitches, a look of incomprehension on his face.

"… 'Dad'?" repeated Kagome, looking from Inuyasha to the kids and back again. "Inuyasha, what is going on?"

"Yeah, what _is_ going on?" chimed Sango, she and Miroku having been awoken by the sounds.

"Is there something you haven't told us, Inuyasha?" asked Miroku slyly.

"Wha—NO!" snapped the hanyou. "No, there ruddy well isn't! I don't know who these kids are, or were they came from, but they sure as heck ain't mine!"

The kids shrank back, visibly stung.

"Wha…what do you mean?" asked the boy.

"Of course you're our Daddy!" exclaimed Izzy. "You look like him, you have his outfit, and you have his name! They called you Inuyasha! It _must_ be you!"

"Hmm," mused Miroku. "A silver-haired, dog-eared hanyou with a distinctive red robe and the name 'Inuyasha'. Truly a common specimen."

"B..b..b..bu—" sputtered Inuyasha, face turning as red as his robes in embarrassment and anger for a case he couldn't prove. "For cryin' out loud, monk, I've spent the past fifty years pinned to a friggin' _tree_! How d'you 'spect me to be havin' kids while trapped in a magical sleep for half a decade?!"

Kagome's eyes widened at his argument. He had a good point. And she'd known him ever since his release from said tree—she was certain he couldn't possibly have had any kids after the event. Besides, it hadn't even been a year since then. He wouldn't have had the time. So, if by chance he did have any children, it would've had to be before becoming sealed.

Kagome, somewhat against her will, entertained that thought for a moment. Was it possible that Inuyasha had children before getting sealed to the tree? If he did, she thought it had probably been…with Kikyo…

No, Kagome asserted to herself. No, that couldn't have happened. Inuyasha would've known, wouldn't he? _Wouldn't he?_ And even if he didn't, somehow…that had been fifty years ago. Any kids of theirs would be grown by now, right? Elderly, not children. Right?

Though her logic seemed solid, Kagome could not repress a squirm of discomfort in her gut, struggling to shake the nagging possibility.

"Well, at any rate," Miroku was sighing, "I suppose we can deal with this little misunderstanding when we reach the village. For now, methinks the best thing to do would be to get there as soon as possible. But first," he added, turning back to the confused and somewhat indignant children, "we should get to know our little guests first. I noticed your ears. Are you hanyou?"

The kids shook their heads.

"Our father was a hanyou," said they boy. "But mother's a mortal. A priestess from the village."—Kagome's heart sank rapidly—"She says that we might be the only people like us that ever existed, so there's not really a word for…whatever we are."

"I see," mused Miroku. "Well, at any rate, what are your names?"

"I'm Michi," said the boy. Kagome's brow furrowed. That name was familiar…it sounded like… "And this is my little sister, Izayoi." She did not miss Inuyasha clenching up at the mention of the name.

"'Cept no one really calls me that," announced the girl. "They just call me Izzy."

"How interesting," said Miroku, cocking an eyebrow and Inuyasha and Kagome's odd reactions to the names. "Is something the matter, Kagome?"

He pretended not to notice Michi and Izzy's eyes widen when we addressed his friend.

"Oh, it's nothing," Kagome said a little too quickly. "It's just that I've only ever known one other Michi before, and he was—"

" _Kagome_?" gasped the boy, interrupting Kagome's statement. "Your name is Kagome?"

"Umm…yes," Kagome replied, a little taken aback.

Michi gaped at her, staring between her and Inuyasha for a while, clearly trying to make sense of something. Izzy's brows were furrowed as well.

"B..b..but," he stammered under his breath. "You look…but I guess…I mean…argh!" He straightened suddenly, looking very frustrated. "What is going on?!"

"What's the matter?" asked Kagome heart pounding.

"Its just that," Michi said shakily, "Kagome is our mother's name!"

There was a long pause as these words sank in, no one moving nor speaking. Miroku and Sango looked slowly from Inuyasha to Kagome as their friends' faces reddened, realizing just what that implied.

"B..but," Kagome said softly, finally breaking the silence, "I…I don't…I've never had kids, I'd remember…and besides," she gulped. _I'm only fifteen, after all…_

"…do you think," Miroku said when Kagome failed to finish her statement, "that maybe, just maybe…time travel might possibly be involved?"

Everyone turned towards him. Time travel? It wasn't impossible, of course, as they all knew that Kagome employed time travel each time she passed through the well. But didn't that imply that…this was a rather telling peek into the futures of Inuyasha and Kagome?

"Think about it," the monk continued. "There aren't very many hanyou out there, and I'm willing to bet that out of those few, even fewer are dog-hanyou specifically, and out of _those_ few, how many do you really think have a magical fire-rat robe, bear the unusual name 'Inuyasha', and know a priestess named Kagome?" When no one responded, he went on.

"But what Inuyasha said earlier also makes sense. He couldn't have had kids because up until recently he's been trapped under a spell, and even if he hadn't been, he's only known Kagome for a few months, correct?

"All that considered, I can't see how this could be anything other than the children of our very own Inuyasha and Kagome somehow coming back in time." He took a deep breath.

"I know this is probably a huge shock to you both," he conceded, nodding towards Inuyasha and Kagome's hanging jaws and wide eyes, "but it truly seems that the question is not who these children are or even where they came from, but how they got here…"

.oOo.

 **Author's Note** :

Those who have been following my work long enough probably think this sounds pretty familiar. This is a revamp of my 2012 fic "Suddenly Parents", started after a few friends took interest in the concept. Hopefully this version will feature better characterization, less forced story beats, and a more believable arc.

Please review and let me know what you think, and if you're interested in seeing more of the kids, check out my oneshot/drabble collection "Adventures of Tomorrow" (seriously it hasn't gotten any new reviews for the past like 3 updates please go look at it.)


	2. Chapter 2

It didn't take long for the gang to pack up their small campsite and hit the road once more. Kagome felt her stomach growl as she clipped her rolled-up sleeping bag to her seemingly magical yellow backpack. They had been so exhausted last night, fallen asleep so soon, that they hadn't really gotten a chance to eat.

Inuyasha noticed this as well.

"You sure you don't wanna grab a bite before we go?" he asked, arms folded casually in his sleeves. "Wouldn't take me long to catch somethin'…"

"Oh…no, no, it's alright", insisted Kagome with a wave of her hand. "I'm sure Kaede will get something for us when we reach the village. Besides, if we wait any longer I think Michi might explode…"

Inuyasha didn't reply; merely grimacing awkwardly at the mention of his…future son. Sure enough, said son was looking rather tense and antsy, itching to head back.

"So…how old are you two, anyways?" Kagome asked. The kids turned towards her.

"Five!" proclaimed Izzy proudly, holding up a hand with each digit spread wide.

"I'm seven," said Michi, still shifting his weight from foot to foot and looking back at the trail.

"I see," said Kagome, looking a little concerned. "Do you think you'll be alright walking so far?"

"They'll be fine, Kagome," Sango assured. "Kohaku and I used to go farther with our father sometimes when we were around their age."

"And besides", Miroku chimed in, "they did get all the way out here in the first place. Visitors from the future or not, I can't imagine that the village would have moved too far in however many years…"

"I…suppose so," Kagome agreed, getting to her feet and pulling the great yellow bag onto her back.

"Ready?" asked Inuyasha, stepping forward.

"Yup."

"Let's go, then."

"Finally!" mumbled Michi. Inuyasha didn't look at him, only starting off toward the village, the group falling silently behind.

They had been walking for a few minutes when Kagome felt a sudden warmth make contact with her hand. She looked down to see Izzy taking it in her own. Noting her surprised expression, Izzy launched into a speedy explanation.

"I know you're not my Mama y..yet but…" she glanced up the trail to where her brother was trotting along, then lowered her voice and turned back to Kagome. "Last night was kind of scary an' I don' wanna get lost again."

"I heard that, you scardy-cat!" Michi called from up ahead, though he didn't turn around.

"Shut up!" Izzy called back. "As if you were any better!"

"Keh!" scoffed Michi, and Kagome almost had to stifle a giggle at the very Inuyasha-like response. Inuyasha himself, however, still didn't react, staring stiffly ahead at the front of the group. He'd been very quiet since discovering the kids' identity, and almost seemed to be avoiding them. Kagome vaguely hoped their existence wasn't some sort of disappointment to him.

"It's alright, Izzy," she said, glancing down at the little girl. "I'll keep you on the trail." She adjusted her grip to get a better hold of Izzy's hand and give it a little squeeze. Awkward circumstance or not, this was still an innocent lost child who needed her help. Izzy grinned widely and giggled.

They walked most of the morning. About halfway to the village Izzy started humming, which then progressed to singing a song with very random and poorly-pieced together lyrics, likely coming off the top of her head. After another brief spat with her brother, however, she stopped.

It was nearing noontime when they finally reached the village. Izzy had jumped in excitement upon catching sight of the buildings, Michi sighing a breath of relief as the gang made a beeline for Kaede's hut. As though sensing their arrival, the elderly priestess slipped out from behind the mat door.

"Ah, yeh've returned," she acknowledged. "and…oh!" She'd caught sight of the strange children. "Who is this?"

"We need to talk to you," Miroku said briskly. "But first, might you be so kind as to offer us a bit of—"

"Food? Yes, yes, of course…come in, now, come in…"

The food did not take very long to prepare, and when Kaede dished it out, the group ate with relish. It took a few minutes of refueling before Miroku decided to break the monotonous chomps and smacks to explain their odd conundrum.

"Time travel, yeh say?" mused Kaede when Miroku finished the story, looking over the children intensely. "Interesting…very interesting…"

"Do you know anything about how it could have happened?" Sango inquired curiously.

"Ah, but that's just the thing," said the elderly priestess. "I've heard of many odd things in my life, youkai with strange powers and abilities, old curses, mystic spells. But the only account of time-travel I've encountered has been that old Bone Eater's Well that leads to Kagome's world, and I'm afraid my knowledge of it is limited."

"Hmm…" Sango replied. "Could it be possible that the well changed its destination, perhaps? To these kids' time?"

"We didn't go through the well," Michi piped up suddenly, speaking for the first time since arriving in the village.

"Did you do anything unusual yesterday?" Kagome asked in response, suddenly feeling stupid for not thinking to simply ask earlier. How hadn't they thought of that?

Michi shrugged.

"Not really. We were just out playing in the forest like usual. But I guess we weren't paying much attention, 'cuz suddenly we looked around and didn't know where we were. So we tried to go back home, and we walked and walked and walked, but…"

"But Michi got us lost," chimed Izzy.

"You got just as lost as me!" growled Michi. "Anyways, we couldn't find anything familiar, so we just kept going, for a really really long time."

"And also Michi pushed me in a ditch of dirt," Izzy accused oddly nonchalantly, showing off the dust stains on her body.

"I did not _push_ you! You stopped walking for no reason and I just happened to run into you!"

"Yeah, 'cuz I saw a ditch of dirt!"

" _Anyways,_ " Michi said again, "we were walking for a really long time, until it started getting dark, and that's when we ran into Unc—uh…just Miroku."

Kagome nodded slowly, absorbing their story. It certainly seemed normal enough, nothing strange or out of the ordinary about it. But before she or anyone else could make a response, Inuyasha stood up, setting his bowl down with the other dirty dishes.

"I'm goin' out for a walk," he announced stiffly, and exited without another word. After a moment of silence at his sudden leave, a pondering hmm from Kaede brought the group back to the situation at hand.

Kaede and Miroku did most of the talking, with occasional comments from Sango or clarifications from Michi and Izzy. But Kagome found it harder to concentrate, now, lost in thought and concern for Inuyasha. Slowly, she stood up.

"Where are you going, Kagome?" Sango asked quietly.

"To check on Inuyasha," Kagome murmured back. Sango nodded in understanding before turning back to the conversation while Kagome slipped quietly out of the hut.

She found Inuyasha exactly where she expected to: sulking in a tree, with a far-off expression that signified being lost in thought. She paused for a moment, unsure what to say. In the end, though, she didn't need to, as Inuyasha beat her to it.

"So…they figure out what to do with the brats yet?"

"Ah…no, not quite. They were still discussing it when I left. But I'm a bit worried about you, Inuyasha. You've seemed pretty distant ever since this morning."

The hanyou's response was not immediate.

"It's…nothin'," he said at last.

"Could you at least come down here so we can talk face-to-face instead of me yelling up this tree?"

Again, a delayed response. But eventually, Inuyasha resigned and slid off the tree. He looked mildly distressed.

"…c'mon," Kagome invited, reaching out to take his hand, but when he stiffened at the contact, she retracted it. "Let's go sit down by the river and talk this over."

They walked in silence most of the way, not quite daring meet each other's eyes. When they reached the river, they sat down on a grassy bank just clear of the trees, the water flowing slowly just below. Neither really knew how to start the conversation, and so each opted to stare into that flow for a while.

"…so," Kagome said quietly, at last breaking the silence, if not the tension. "Are you…upset…about the kids?"

"I…well…" Inuyasha began. He wasn't sure how to answer, because he wasn't sure how he felt.

He'd known for a long time that he cared very much for Kagome and wanted to protect her. Her presence made him feel calm and happy, and she had accepted him more openly and unconditionally than any other person had since his mother's passing. But he'd never really consciously pondered those feelings very hard before. It was just something he felt, not something he thought about, and on the rare occasion that he did think about it, his thoughts were centered on the here and now. The thought of them marrying was just not one that had crossed his mind, let alone having children. In fact, until this morning he hadn't even been sure if hanyou could have children. He'd never heard of it happening, though perhaps that could be simply because so many hanyou were forced by prejudice to live harsh, lonely lives.

And then there was the situation with Kikyo. How could he let himself be happy with Kagome when he owed Kikyo his life for not trusting her, and therefore letting himself and her fall victim to Naraku's plot? Surely he didn't deserve such happiness when he owed such a debt. He wondered vaguely what had happened to Kikyo, by the time those kids came around. Had she found peace without a repayment?

Inuyasha sighed.

"I just…well…I dunno," he said. "I guess I've just…never really thought so hard about…about what ou…our future could be." Kagome nodded slowly.

"Yeah…I suppose it was kind of a shock, huh?"

"Yeah."

Another pause. Then:

"Inuyasha?"

"Yeah?"

"I…noticed you kind of tense up a bit when the girl was introduced as Izayoi. Does that name have a special meaning to you, or something?"

Inuyasha blinked in surprise. Oddly enough, he'd been so overcome by the general situation that he'd almost forgotten about Izzy's full name. It struck him as vaguely odd that Kagome wasn't aware of its significance; it was as if he felt she knew him so well that he just assumed she knew facts like that. But, he realized on further reflection, he couldn't actually ever recall sharing that particular tidbit of information with her.

"Izayoi was my mother's name," he said softy. Kagome's eyes widened in understanding.

" _Oohh_ ," she said. "That's really interesting, actually, because believe it or not, 'Michi' was my father's."

Inuyasha stared, shocked. Come to think of it, he'd never met Kagome's father. It was always just her mother, grandpa, and little brother when he visited her world. Could her father have passed away when she was a child, just like his parents had?

"Seriously?"

"Yeah…well, not exactly. It was Michio. But still…your mother and my father, huh? It's just interesting, isn't it?"

"Yeah, I guess it is," said Inuyasha, slowly cracking a small grin, the first he'd shown since meeting the kids. "I guess they really are ours, aren't they? Those kids." Not that the evidence hadn't been ample enough before, but somehow recognizing it _with_ Kagome rather than being told by Miroku alleviated some of his tension, made it seem more natural and less bizarre.

Kagome giggled sweetly, chasing away what was left of the tension.

"Yeah, I guess they are."

And the couple laughed together, fears and insecurities temporarily vanquished. A few salty tears began to leak from Kagome's eyes.

"Ah…whoa…you ain't gonna start cryin', are ya?" stammered Inuyasha, calming down slightly.

"Oh, no…no, no, these are mostly from the laughing," assured Kagome, wiping them away. "But…"

She leaned into Inuyasha, who felt his face heat up a bit in spite of himself.

"I am really glad to know that we have a good future together ahead of us."

"K..keh," Inuyasha stammered, his heart suddenly pounding at the unexpected contact. He found, however, that it calmed quickly this time, sinking back into a warm, steady beat. He allowed himself to smile and relaxed into Kagome, his voice almost a whisper. "Me too."


	3. Chapter 3

Inuyasha and Kagome had decided not to hurry going back. They strolled through the forest at a leisurely pace, neither really speaking for fear of interrupting the pleasant mood. At one point Kagome had slipped her hand into Inuyasha's, and he returned the grip confidently.

It wasn't the first time they had held hands, but there was somehow something different about it. Something about knowing that their future together was secure seemed to erase a lot of the doubts and questions they'd held before, even if some of them—such as the gap between their eras, or else what would happen to Kikyo—remained unanswered. They didn't really need an answer as long as they knew it would all work out. Well…an answer still would have been nice. But it wasn't _as_ important.

The couple let go as they approached the village and Kaede's home, they still weren't comfortable acting any sort of lovey-dovey in front of their friends—that would just be awkward for everyone. But even so, as they pushed open the door and entered the hut, they did so together. All eyes turned towards them as they entered, displaying looks of curiosity and perhaps relief, all except for Sango, who seemed calm, probably having guessed what happened, and Michi, who looked a bit uncomfortable and was glancing around nervously.

"Oh good, you're back," said Miroku. "Where have you been?"

"Oh, just sorting out a few things," replied Kagome with a wave of her hand. "Don't worry about it. Have you figured out any clues that might help us get these two back home?"

"It is just as much a mystery as ever, I'm afraid," said Kaede, glancing between the children with her good eye. "Nothing about their tale seems to suggest a point where they might have crossed times."

"Do you think it could be the work of a youkai?" wondered Miroku.

"Nay, I don't think so," said Kaede. "I've never heard of a youkai with the ability to control time."

"Nor have I," added Sango, "and I've studied and slain many types, growing up in the slayer's village. But…they're also quite varied, aren't they? Youkai, I mean. For all we know, perhaps one _is_ the culprit…"

"Hmmm…." mused Kaede, stroking her chin with a wrinkled hand. "Well, if nothing else, I suppose it would be worth looking in to. We have no other leads, after all…"

The group fell quiet, lost in contemplation. Michi started to fidget, wiping his trembling fingers on clammy hand as his eyes continued to dart around.

"Ah, Michi?" asked Kagome softly, the boy snapping around at the sound of his name. "Is something wrong?"

Michi didn't answer at first, though Kagome could tell he was straining to keep his mouth shut. Finally, he gave in, bursting out:

"AAAAGGH, I can't take it any more! It's my fault! It's all my fault!"

The group had inched back a bit at the sudden outburst, but Michi hadn't seemed to noticed, his deep indigo eyes beginning to glisten, his pointed black puppy's ears drawn back in distress.

"I'm the one who got us lost! I should've been payin' attention but I didn't! I didn't even know which direction to go, and it was gettin' late, and…and…"

He looked up at Kagome, for she was the one who'd asked the question, fat tears falling down his cheeks, cutting clear trails in the dust that he hasn't yet washed off.

"W..w..what if we c..can't go back? W..what if we're st..stuck in this t..time f..f..forever?" he sobbed desperately. "W..what if we can never ever see our friends again? O..or our aunt and uncle…the regular ones, I mean…or…or…"—his lip quivered—"or Mom and Dad, the regular ones…o..or our other siblings…"

Kagome's eyes widened a moment, a little caught off guard. "You mean there are more? Other than you and Izzy?" she stammered clumsily. Michi nodded, sniffing and wiping his nose on his wrist, brows still furrowed and voice still thick.

"There are five of us, actually," he explained in a hoarse mumble. "Me an' Izzy, then our little sister Kikyo, an' little brother Yukio, and Kiotsu was just born a while ago…"

"Oh," Miroku said too softly for Michi to notice, raising his eyebrows at Inuyasha with an amused expression while the hanyou, face reddening slightly, growled "Not the time, monk," through gritted teeth.

Impervious to the whispered conversation, Michi shook his head, wobbly voice bursting again:

"B..but what does it matter if we never see them again? Wh..what if we're stuck here, f..forever, and it's _all my fault?_ " With a last tearful look at Kagome, he buried his face in his hands and sobbed quietly, occasionally muttering bits of 'my fault' and 'what have I done' and 'lost'.

Kagome shook her head to clear it. She had been distracted by the mention of Michi's younger siblings, but now was not the time to dwell on that. She put an arm around the distressed young boy.

"Oh, Michi," she crooned, "It's ok. It's ok." She gently pried the boy's hands away from his face to wipe his tears off with her own. "I know this is scary for you. You know, the first time I fell through the well and ended up in the Feudal era, I was scared too, and I didn't know if I could ever go back and see my family again.

"But you know what? I did see them again. I went back through the well, and there they were. And you can see your family again too. And even though we don't yet know just how you and your sister got here, I _promise_ you that we will do everything we can to get you back home."

"R..really?" stammered Michi. Kagome smiled gently at him.

"Really," she assured.

Michi sniffled and wiped his nose again, though he seemed more relaxed with an assurance of help.

"T..thanks," he said, just a hint of a smile on his lips.

.oOo.

The afternoon, however, yielded no further answers. As the day waned and Kaede began planning an evening meal, the group decided it might be best to take the kids down to the river and get them a bath to finally get rid of the dirt stains that still coated their skin. Both Izzy and Michi, who had become much more friendly and lighthearted after his outburst, agreed without too much of a fuss. Kaede even borrowed some clean clothes for them from a family in the village, who, upon hearing the story, offered to wash theirs off in the meantime.

The girls went down to the river first while the boys waited behind, with the usual exception of young Shippo who went with Kagome as he always did. The water was cold, but they had faced such a situation many times before when no hot springs were available, and given that it was a hot summer day, they got used to it quickly. Izzy and Shippo splashed around playfully in the shallower bits of the water under the watchful eyes of Kagome and Sango.

"It's nice for Shippo to have someone closer to his own age to play with for once, isn't it?" mused Sango as she watched them go. "He tries to act so mature, but it must be really hard not to have much time with us to just be a kid anymore."

Kagome nodded in agreement. That was, she supposed, something Shippo and Inuyasha had in common. Both orphaned at a young age, both forced to grow up too fast. Though the pair seemed to bicker often, Kagome suspected they felt a sort of brotherly bond that could be rooted in such similarities.

Kagome waded back to the shore and reached towards the rock on which her bag rested, pulling out a small container of shampoo…just because she'd given up things such as makeup while spending so much time in the Feudal era didn't mean she had to give up everything, and she still felt that shampoo was worth carrying.

"Come here, Izzy!" she called, moving back into a part of the river she could sit. "I need to wash your hair."

"Coming!" said the girl, laughing and splashing.

"Me next, right, Kagome?" asked Shippo, following. Kagome smiled, squirting some shampoo into her hands.

"Of course, Shippo." she said. She handed the bottle over to Sango. "Need some?"

"Thanks," said Sango, taking to bottle and applying some to her own long, dark-brown hair.

Kagome scrubbed the shampoo into Izzy's scalp, the child humming pleasantly as she did so. Unlike her brother, who had been so tense up until those few hours ago, Izzy had seemed oddly optimistic and relaxed throughout the ordeal.

"…Are you excited to go home, Izzy?" she asked after a moment.

"Yeah," said the girl simply, swishing her legs under the water as she sat on Kagome's lap.

"Do you have any ideas how you got here?"

Izzy shrugged.

"Not really. But the grown-ups will find it. They always do."

Ah, Kagome thought, so that was it. Izzy, only five, was a little more trusting of adult's abilities to fix problems. Perhaps for her, unlike for her older brother, the potential implications of their visit to the past weren't quite sinking in so deeply, since whatever issue there was, the adults would be sure to solve it.

"Mama?" said Izzy, breaking Kagome out of her thoughts, still a bit startled at being addressed as such. "Sorry," said the child, sensing this. "I know you're not my mama…um, yet…um…K..Kagome?" She furrowed her brow, frowning. "No, that sounds really weird…"

"Either one is fine," Kagome assured. "Whichever you feel most comfortable with. I'm just…not really used to being called 'mama', yet. But you can still call me that if you want to."

"Oh," said Izzy, "Ok. Well…Mama?"

"Yes?"

"Do you love Daddy?"

Kagome blinked in surprise. Whatever she'd been expecting the girl to ask, it wasn't that.

"What do you mean?"

"Unc—er, Miroku said that you weren't married yet."

"That's true. We've only known each other for a few months, actually."

"So…do you love him? How did you fall in love? How long did it take? Tell me!"

Kagome thought, trying to decide how best to answer her…daughter's innocent questions.

"Well," she said carefully, "I do care for him very much. But it's still a little bit…complicated right now. W..with chasing Naraku and everything."

Izzy's eyes widened in wonder. She'd heard the stories of the evil Naraku that her parents had to battle long before she was born.

"You're still after Naraku?" she asked in awe.

"Yes," said Kagome. "But don't worry about how things are now. I'm sure that they'll all work out fine by the time you're born. Or…I assume so."

"So, Michi said that you have three little siblings, Izzy?" asked Sango, steering the conversation elsewhere.

"Yup!" piped the girl as Kagome scooped up some water and poured it over her head, rinsing out the soap. "Kikyo an' Yukio an' Kiotsu. Kiotsu's only a baby. He's really cute." She grinned widely.

"…Kikyo?" repeated Kagome.

"Yeah. She was named after Gramma Kaede's sister, I think. But I never met her. Kaede's sister, I mean. Apparently she died a long time ago." She shrugged. Kagome let out a slightly sigh. It seemed that Izzy didn't know much more about Kikyo than that, including that her father had once loved her. Still, the thought of choosing to name her daughter after someone who'd caused her so much grief still felt very odd to Kagome. Just what would happen in the coming years, she wondered, that would provide such a possibility? Oh well, she thought, it was what is was…surely it would work out, right?

"Do your other siblings have puppy ears, too?" Sango could not help asking, interrupting Kagome's thoughts once more.

"No, just me an' Michi," said Izzy. "But Yukio has white hair like Daddy. The rest of us just have regular hair."

"I see," mused Sango. "Still, five of you, huh? Well, congratulations, Kagome," she said, smiling a bit teasingly at her friend, whose cheeks were tinted pink once again.

"Say, Izzy," said Kagome loudly. "Do _Auntie_ Sango and _Uncle_ Miroku have any kids in your time?"

Izzy started at her like the answer was the most obvious in the universe.

"Well, duh! There's Amaya, and Naomi, and Moku, and Haru, and Ushio—"

Kagome glanced smugly at her friend as Izzy rattled off the names; it was Sango's turn to flush pink.

"Whatever you do," the youkai slayer hissed, eyes darting around the river, "don't tell Miroku."

Kagome winked.

"Your secret's safe with me."

.oOo.

The sun inevitably set and the day came to a close. While there was still a bit of worry about figuring out how to get the kids home, everyone was generally feeling better with clean bodies and clothes and full stomachs. Michi and Izzy's clothes were hanging up on a clothing line outside with the hope that they'd be dry by morning. Night may not have been the most optimal time to hang clothes, but with any luck they'd be sending the kids home sooner than later, and and such it was imperative that they dried as soon as possible.

For the time being, the kids were wearing the two old pairs of sleeping robes Kaede had borrowed from a woman in the village whose own children had outgrown them. They weren't the prettiest outfits in the world, but they were comfortable and fit well enough.

Kaede only owned one spare futon, which she offered to the kids while she slept on her main one, leaving everyone else to find space on the floor. They were used to this, however, and no one really minded; the old and the young needed the beds the most, after all.

Inuyasha and Kagome were the last ones awake, this being normal for the former, but not the latter. Apparently unable to fall alseep, Kagome rose from her sleeping bag and went over to sit next to Inuyasha, who, like usual when staying in a hut, sat propped up against a wall, sword secure under an arm.

"What's up?" he said quietly, taking his eyes off the kids and turning towards Kagome. She simply shrugged, saying nothing.

For a while they both stared, lost in thought once more. It had been a long day full of strange occurrences, myserteous circumstances, and rather emotional pep talks. Inuyasha had opened up a little to the kids after having his, and Michi had relaxed a lot after his, giving the two time to…get to know each other, or something. He saw a lot of Kagome in the boy, which was funny, because she'd mentioned in passing that she saw a lot of Inuyasha in his mannerisms.

It was weird thinking that they'd be raising these two from birth one day. While far from perfect—they were, after all, children, and still fought and complained and struggled here and there—from what admittedly little they'd seen, the two seemed like overall good kids.

But at any rate, the couple thought as they finally began to drift to sleep, the problem of getting them home still remained…


	4. Chapter 4

Kagome was so worried.

It had been two nights, now, since her babies had gone missing, and she was determined not to make it two days.

She recalled with dread that afternoon, cursing herself for not keeping a better eye on them. Michi and Izzy had been out playing in the woods around their home, not an unusual occurrence in the slightest, and Kagome had been so busy with new baby Kiotsu, she just assumed they'd be all right and return for dinner, like they always did…

But they hadn't shown up for dinner, to her annoyance, nor by sunset, at which point she really began to worry. She called their names. Inuyasha joined her, a fear so rarely seen in his usually-amber eyes surfacing in what was now a dark indigo. It was the new moon. He couldn't track them. They considered using their dog, Mei, but the youngster was hardly out of puppyhood and wasn't trained in tracking on command. She didn't seem to understand.

The hanyou had left at daybreak the following morning, bolting out of the hut the moment he regained his enhanced senses. But it had rained in the night—not enough to wash out the scents completely, but enough to dull them, to blend them in to all the other places where their scent lingered—they played here often, after all.

Even so, the couple searched all day. Well, not quite all day—they still had three other kids to take care of, after all, and their frantic worry was beginning to rub off on them. Yukio seemed markedly crankier than usual and Kikyo had thrown a fit about having to take a nap while her missing sister didn't. Even Mei whimpered and whined, a mixture of empathy knowing that her masters were upset, and indigence for not being played with.

They ultimately decided to leave Kikyo and Yukio with Miroku and Sango and their family. Kiotsu, who still drank only milk, couldn't be without his mother and simply had to come with them, strapped securely to Kagome.

"Are you sure you don't want us to help look?" Sango asked earnestly as the couple prepared to head back into the forest.

"That would be great, but I think it'd be better if you just kept an eye on the others," sighed Kagome.

"Well…alright, then. But we'll be here if you need us."

"Thank you," said Kagome. "We'll be back to pick up Kikyo and Yukio as soon as we find Michi and Izzy…or," she sighed, "or around dusk if we…if we still can't find them." Her voice trembled slightly.

Inuyasha cleared his throat.

"Let's go," he said, slightly tensely. And they left.

They decided to bring Mei on the search after all, encouraging her to take deep whiffs of some of Michi and Izzy's clothes and toys before heading out. They weren't sure if she'd understand they wanted her to track the scents, or if it would even make a difference now that they had Inuyasha's nose back in business, but at this point they were ready to take any measures that might help.

Alas, the search remained in vain. The scents were still too muddy to find a decent trail, and they were slowed, too, by having to stop to feed or change or comfort Kiotsu every so often.

Mei put her snout to the ground from time to time, but never followed anything very long before bounding up again, or else chasing after some small animal. As the afternoon waned, Inuyasha had grown frustrated with the dog's inattentiveness and reached out to grab her collar, intent on bringing her back home and tying her up so she couldn't provide any more distraction. But Mei, thinking this was some kind of game, wagged her tail and scampered away, hiding playfully behind a bush. Inuyasha growled in annoyance and leapt towards her. Mei bounded gracefully out the the way, tongue lolling joyously, and Inuyasha landed face-first into the bush.

"Are you ok?" Kagome gasped, rushing over to her husband. Inuyasha didn't respond at first, though he had suddenly gone stiff as a board. He inhaled deeply. This…this smell…

"Kagome," he whispered hoarsely. "I've got a scent trail!" he looked up, taking in the scents leading away from the bush. It wasn't the clearest trail he'd ever followed, but it was there.

"Do you? Oh, thank goodness!" Kagome exclaimed, sinking slightly in relief. "Where—" But just then, Kiotsu's little whimpers turned into cries. "Oh, no," murmured Kagome, lifting the baby from his little pouch and rubbing his back consolingly. She glanced at the horizon. She hadn't even noticed that the sun had nearly set. She bit her lip, eyes stinging.

"Go on and follow the trail, Inuyasha," she begged. "I'll take care of Kiotsu and pick up Kikyo and Yukio. Just…bring them home, ok?"

Inuyasha nodded resolutely, and they went their separate ways.

.oOo.

Kagome waited with baited breath for her husband to return from his solo search. Kikyo and Yukio had gone to bed surprisingly easily, likely having worn themselves out playing with Miroku and Sango's kids all day. Kiotsu, too, was currently asleep, slumbering peacefully in his blanket-laden basket.

The sound of bare footsteps and click-click-click of clawed paws caught Kagome's attention. She looked up hopefully as the door to her hut slid open. Mei trotted into the room, tail wagging, and curled up contentedly next to the fire. Inuyasha followed, eyes lowered and expression somber. Kagome's hope extinguished like an old flame dying out.

"Lost the trail," he said horsely. "I tracked it for quite a while, but it just vanished in front of this old ditch. Not a trace left."

Kagome gave a sharp intake of breath, bringing her hand up to her mouth.

"B..b..but," she stammered, "a disappearing scent like that…that's what happens when…" she couldn't finish her sentence. That was what happened when the source of the scent took to the sky. Surely…surely their children couldn't have flown off…couldn't have been taken by, say, a flying youkai?

Inuyasha's jaw tightened in distress, but he nevertheless sat down next to his wife, slouching in defeat.

"I don't know," he said heavily. "Mei went a little funny 'round the ditch, though. Maybe we can go back t'morrow, see what we can find…" his voice was beginning to slur off, giving in to a mix of sorrow and fatigue. Kagome bit her lip. She wanted to go now. But it was late, so late, and everyone seemed exhausted. A few tears threatened to fall. But she nodded, and the pair settled down to sleep as best they could.

And now, here they were, having been missing their oldest two babies for two nights and one day. They had left Kikyo and Yukio with Miroku and Sango once more, and this time decided to tie Mei up in their yard to prevent her distractions.

"Ready?" asked Inuyasha.

"Let's go," said Kagome, and immediately the set off towards the location Inuyasha had discovered yesterday.

"Here we are," said Inuyasha as they arrived at the ditch. The sight was nothing extraordinary, merely a few scrapes of earth dug out of the forest floor. It didn't even look fresh; in fact, it may well have been there for several years.

Nevertheless, Kagome could tell why it had disturbed Mei.

"This…this aura…" the priestess murmured. Inuyasha glanced up in surprise.

"Aura?" he asked. "I didn't sense anything…"

Kagome shook her head.

"You wouldn't, I don't think. This is a very specific kind of aura…it might well be something only I can detect, it's…" she looked up at her husband. "Inuyasha, it's the same kind of aura given by the well!"

Inuyasha's eyes widened as the impact of her statement sunk in.

"You don't think…" he began.

"Only one way to find out," she replied.

They started at each other for a moment, then turned to the ditch. And then, with one more glance and a nod, they jumped in.

.oOo.

Kagome's eyes fluttered open as light flooded the hut—Kaede had opened her windows. The teenage priestess stretched, trying to sort out some stiff muscles—she wasn't used to sleeping sitting up.

Her stirring woke Inuyasha, who slowly opened his amber eyes. The kids were awake, too, rising from Kaede's spare futon to join the elderly priestess as she handed the each bundles of cloth.

"Here's yer clothes, nice and dry," she was saying. "Why don't yeh put them on?"

"Thanks, Gramma Kaede," said Michi, accepting the bundle, while Izzy only grinned and nodded, quite unabashedly stripping off her borrowed nightclothes right there.

"Izzy!" groaned Michi.

"What?" said the girl, slipping on her now-clean pink kimono. "Jus' changing." Kagome found herself having to stifle a giggle at the child's innocent bluntness.

"Shippo," said Kaede, interrupting the siblings' mini squabble, "I had some fruits collected the other day, there's a basket of them in the storehouse on the edge of the village. Could you go grab that for me?"

"Sure," said the young fox, darting out of the hut.

"Oh boy, fruit!" exclaimed Izzy happily. "Fruit is yummy. Mama, can you help me with my obi?"

"Ah—alright," said Kagome. "Come here…"

Izzy pranced over hand handed the long sash to Kagome. She didn't have a ton of experience tying kimonos, but she'd had to wear a few before and knew the basics. After a moment, she managed a decent knot.

"There you go, I think," she said, stepping back to admire her handiwork.

"Thanks!" said Izzy, skipping back around the hut.

"Real professional knot there," Inuyasha murmured in Kagome's ear. His tone was mildly sarcastic, but he was grinning.

"Oh, hush," said Kagome, though she grinned back. "I didn't see you offering any help, Mr. Obi Expert."

"I wear one every day," said the hanyou.

"Pfft," argued Kagome, "You never take the thing off. When would you need to tie it up?"

"Well, I've got to, y'know, do my business, don't I? And I bathe too, you know!"

"Do you?" asked Kagome, raising an eyebrow, a teasing gleam in her eye. "I wouldn't be able to tell!"

"Why you—!" scoffed the hanyou, though he couldn't suppress his grin. Before he could finish his remark, however, Shippo stuck his head through the door of the hut, a very odd expression on his face.

"Uh…Inuyasha? Kagome?" he said. "You might want to come out here and take a look at this…"

Inuyasha and Kagome glanced at each other, amusement evaporating, replaced with confusion and a bit of curiosity. Slowly, they stood and followed the young fox out of the hut.

What they saw made them freeze.

There, standing next to each other near the hut in equal shock, were…themselves.

They weren't perfect replicas; these versions were notably older. Inuyasha, still dressed in his trademark fire-rat robe, was more similar, though he was an inch or two taller than his teenage counterpart, with slightly broader shoulders and more refined features.

Kagome was a bit harder to recognize immediately dressed in the billowing red-and-white priestess robes rather than her simple green school uniform and with hair seemingly slightly longer, but her face was definitely the same, albeit obviously more mature. The adult was also rather more shapely than the teen, likely due to having borne a number of children, and strapped to her back was a tiny sleeping baby with dark hair and pointed ears not unlike Shippo's.

The stunned silence was broken as a pair of voices broke out from behind the teenagers.

"Mama!"

" _Daddy!_ "

The adults broke their gaze from their younger selves and expressions of relief and joy burst across the faces, kneeling down to embrace their children as the kids ran towards them.

"Oh, thank goodness!" gasped the older Kagome as she held Michi close to her, a few tears of joy leaking from her eyes. "We were so worried about you! Are you alright?"

"Yeah," squeaked the boy. "But you're not mad at us, are you? It was an accident, we didn't meant to get lost, we—"

"No," whispered Kagome, "No, I'm just so glad you're ok…and you…" she turned to Izzy, who let go of Inuyasha and embraced her. "Oh, thank goodness, thank _goodness_ …"

"What the heck is going on here?"

The kids and both Inuyashas and Kagomes turned to see Miroku and Sango staring in shock at the scene. The younger Kagome gave a slight cough.

"We…ah…found their parents," she said as her friends' eyes slid back and forth between the older and younger pair.

"How did you find us?" asked Michi.

"Did you two happen to fall in to a weird ditch while you were out playin'?" asked the adult Inuyasha.

"Yeah, Michi pushed me into it," said Izzy simply.

"It was an _accident!_ " Michi hissed.

" _Well_ ," said the adult Kagome, interrupting the spat, "I don't know how it happened, but somehow that ditch gained its own time slip, not unlike the well."

"The youkai!" Sango gasped suddenly, causing the group to look up in surprise.

"That youkai we fought the other day!" she continued. "The one that kept opening up fissures in the earth…"

"Of course!" said Miroku. "Its corpse fell into one of them in the end, didn't it? Kaede always said that part of the lore of the Bone Eater's Well, other than the whole time thing, was the remains of youkai ending up in it…"

"But then how come it hasn't caused problems until just now?" piped Shippo.

"Well, it was only the other day we fought that youkai," reminded the younger Kagome.

"Maybe for us, but not for them!" the fox reminded, indicating the older Inuyasha and Kagome.

"I don't know exactly how it happened," said Miroku, "but such a delay is not unheard of. Sometimes youkai or their energy can lie dormant for years before coming back to cause trouble…"

"Well, however it happened," said the younger Kagome, "the question it what we're going to do about it. The well is one thing, since the times it connects are so far apart, but with this one…" she glanced at her adult counterpart. "I feel like this one's more dangerous…paradoxes and all…"

The older Kagome nodded in agreement.

"I think…I can do something about it. You'll find," she said, meeting the eyes of her teenage self, "that you have a unique connection with the well and with time magic. Once we get back to our proper time, I think I'll be able to close off the slip in the ditch."

And so, that became the plan. The kids took a moment to say thank you and good-bye to Miroku, Sango, Shippo, and Kaede, then turned to accompany their parents back to the ditch.

The younger Inuyasha and Kagome had elected to go with them. This was, after all, a little more personal for them.

They didn't say much on the journey, despite it being long. It was simply difficult to put to words what they wanted to say.

Finally they reached the ditch, and everyone paused.

"Well, here we are," said the adult Inuyasha. But still, no one moved.

The adult Kagome finally turned around.

"I suppose you have a lot of questions, huh?" she asked, though her tone was more stative. The teens nodded. The older Kagome smiled, though there was a slightly regretful look in her eyes.

"I'm afraid we can't answer most of them, for fear of the…paradoxes and all," she nodded towards her younger counterpart. "But we can say that…as hard as things might seem right now, in your relationship with each other or in the battle against Naraku or the quest for the jewel…we can't give you the details, you must understand, but don't worry, because things will work out. Ok?"

"Ok," said the younger Kagome. "…thank you."

"We should be thanking you," said the older Inuyasha. "You took care of the kids for us, though it gotta've been a bit awkward."

There was a brief pause.

"Can we see the baby?" the younger Kagome blurted, her face turning a bit pink as she said the words aloud.

"Oh!" said the older Kagome, who hadn't even thought much about Kiotsu being on her back but not introducing him. "Yes, of course…" she maneuvered a bit to bring his little pouch around to the front and lifted him out of it. She smiled. "Would you like to hold him?"

"…yeah," breathed the younger Kagome, and she gently took the baby in her arms. As softly as she could manage, she stroked the tiny boy's downy back hair. The child squirmed slightly as his slumber ended, but though he opened his little eyes he didn't cry. His eyes were a deep russet brown, like Kagome's and Izzy's. Kagome noted that none of the three she'd met had Inuyasha's golden eyes; though Michi's indigo was technically inherited from his father, it wasn't as striking a shade as the amber.

"I toldja he was really cute," said Izzy smugly. The younger Kagome smiled.

"Yeah, he is," she said softly. "Do…any of them have gold eyes?"

The older Kagome laughed lightly.

"So you were told about the others, huh? Yes, Kikyo and Yukio both have gold eyes,"

"Kikyo…" murmured younger Kagome. "I suppose that name would be too much of a spoiler to ask about?"

"I'm afraid so," agreed older Kagome.

Another pause.

"Do you intend to have any more?" asked younger Kagome at length, face going pink again.

"Kids?" said older Kagome, laughing. "No, we're planning on Kiotsu being the last. But then, that's what we said about Yukio, so who knows?"

The corners of younger Kagome's lips twitched in what could have been the beginnings of a smile, but a look of worry still echoed in her eyes.

"Doesn't it hurt to give birth?" she asked quietly.

"Yes," said older Kagome. "But it's worth it. You'll understand one day." She grinned knowingly. "Trust me; I'm you."

The younger Kagome smiled back, still a bit unsure, but feeling better. She turned to her hanyou friend.

"Do you want to hold him, Inuyasha?"

The younger hanyou went red, stepping back nervously.

"I…uh…I'll pass," he said, eyeing the delicate child.

"I'll take him," volunteered the older Inuyasha, smirking slightly at his teenage counterpart as he stepped forward and took his son, holding the baby securely but tenderly against his chest. Kagome's eyes softened at the sight.

"Well," said older Kagome, "I supposed we'd best be getting back. The others are waiting for us."

"Ah, I'm sure they're having a great time playin' at Miroku and Sango's," older Inuyasha dismissed.

"Yes, well, even so, we did leave Mei tied up; I'm sure she'll be wanting loose. Our dog," she added at the look of confusion the teenagers gave. "It's a long story. But anyways, we should be going. Thanks again for keeping the kids safe."

"Ah…of course," said the younger Kagome, younger Inuyasha simply nodding.

"Bye!" said Michi as he and his sister waved.

"Get married soon so you can have us!" said Izzy cheerfully.

" _Izzy!_ " groaned Michi.

"What?"

And with that, the family leapt back into the ditch, vanishing from sight.

.oOo.

The whole ordeal felt more and more like a dream as time went on, Kagome thought. Perhaps that was for the better—after all, their lives would never be able to progress naturally if they were too focused on getting to that point in their peek into the future—they might accidentally wind up trying to force it rather than letting it develop as it should.

But, dream or no dream, she kept in mind the words her older self had spoken to her. _As hard as things may seem right now…don't worry, because things will work out, ok?_

Kagome didn't know what trials lay ahead in her journey, but she knew that she would make it through, and that one day, even if it were perhaps very far in the future, she would get her happy ending. And Inuyasha, too, and all their friends. Things would work out.

And that was enough.


End file.
